Free Flight sanctuary hosts painting event to support parrots in Del Mar
A $55 painting session at Free Flight paired art, refreshments and resident parrots with a fundraiser that fed the sanctuary's care work.
Free Flight Exotic Bird Sanctuary brought people into the parrot house Sunday for Summer Painting with Parrots, a $55 session in Del Mar that paired a guided painting lesson with the sanctuary's resident flock. Artist Erin Schroeder led attendees at 2132 Jimmy Durante Blvd. from 2:00 PM to 4:30 PM, with morning and afternoon sessions offered and light refreshments from Lazy Acres of Encinitas. The setup was simple and unusually effective: paint a parrot, stand near a parrot, and help fund the place that cares for them.
That fit Free Flight's larger mission. The Del Mar sanctuary says it exists to shelter, nurture and re-socialize parrots, and the organization traces its roots to 1981, when it began as a boarding and breeding facility shaped by benefactor Dr. Robert F. Stonebreaker. It operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and welcomes visitors by reservation, with birds visible up close and several available for interaction. On the sanctuary side of the glass, that human contact is not a bonus; Free Flight says it is a major part of a parrot's day.
The FAQ gives the bird-specific stakes a sharper edge. Some residents live in permanent retirement because of advanced age, chronic illness or a prior owner request, while others serve in adoption or education roles. That makes the painting event more than a social outing. It becomes an easy entry point into parrot welfare, letting casual visitors spend time near real birds while learning how sanctuary life differs from a private home or a storefront cage.
Free Flight is also keeping the public calendar active beyond July. The sanctuary has an Autumn Art Fair scheduled for October 6, 2026, signaling a regular rhythm of events built around the flock. Leadership has been in motion too: Lauren Alvarez joined the board in 2020 and was elected board president in 2025, and the longtime executive director stepped down on April 1, 2026 after 34 years with Free Flight.
By the time the brushes came up at 2:00 PM, the point of the afternoon was already clear. The painting class gave visitors a direct encounter with parrots, and the fundraiser sent that attention back into the sanctuary that shelters them.
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